The Art of Saying Goodbye
by Lena and Liz
Summary: One shot companion to High Heels and Dirty Deals. Maria says goodbye to some of the important people in her life. Ties in with chapter 13 of HHDD.


**Disclaimer:**We don't own Sons of Anarchy or anything related to it. Any characters you don't recognize are our own creations, and any resemblance to people living or dead is purely coincidental. We make no profit from this.

**Authors' Note: **Hey, guys! We're back, and hopefully we won't disappear again. Here's the first of a number of oneshots we promised you, sorry about the long wait. If you haven't read High Heels and Dirty Deals you should probably go and do that... if you've read it you can go and read it again if you want to. This is a tie-in with chapter 13 of HHDD. Hope you like it!

* * *

><p><em><strong>May 30th, 2002<strong>_

"Maria, honey, Ted's order is ready!"

Shifting her gaze from the clock to the doors of the kitchen, the woman in question sighed and got up from her seat. There was an hour until her shift ended, her last shift, and there were only three people left in the diner: Ted, who ate there religiously, and a young couple grabbing a late lunch. The morning had been slow, and even though she was working with Beth, the happy-go-lucky teenager spent every free second studying for her finals. All in all, her last day had been a boring mix of staring at the clock and drawing stick figures on napkins.

Walking slowly, Maria took Ted's order from Elaine and brought it to him with a quick smile

She couldn't wait to go home and have a long bubble bath, and yet she dreaded getting off of work. Maria had called her boss the night before, right after she had spoken to Juice, to tell him she had to quit. The only reason she was working was because it was too late for him to find someone to take her shift. After the conversation, she had neatly packed her things in boxes, which now littered the apartment she once shared with Juice. All that was left to be done was for the stuff to be loaded in her truck and she could be on her way, out of town and on the road leading to Charming, California, where her new life awaited her.

Beth and Elaine had been upset by the news, but came to somewhat respect her decision. Beth didn't understand why she was leaving, and even though Elaine knew what Maria's motives were, she didn't like the situation one bit. Since they'd found out about Maria's pregnancy, the cook had been doing everything in her power to go easy on the young woman. She'd been fussing over her constantly, and Elaine didn't like the thought of the soon-to-be mother in a town where she knew no one, and couldn't depend on anyone but herself and Juan.

"Thanks, Mia." Ted smiled her when she brought his food, and put a hand on her arm. "It's gonna be alright, you know… the move."

She returned the smile, glad to hear his comforting words. "Thanks, Ted. I appreciate it." She looked around the diner, her gaze lingering on the kitchen a few seconds longer. News of her departure had spread like wildfire and every remotely regular customer had wished her luck and happiness. Although she smiled politely at all of them, the well-wishes did nothing but add to her anxiety. She loved Juice, knew she had to leave Tacoma, but she was still terrified of the whole ordeal. What if things didn't work out the way she hoped?

"With the way Elaine has been glaring at everyone, I thought you needed to hear it."

Maria laughed, the first time that day, really thankful for Ted's presence in her life. "Yeah, she's all sunshine today. Thinks I'm making a mistake and uses every chance she gets to tell me." Shaking her head, she gave Ted his check, said goodbye to the other patrons of the diner, and went to clear their table.

Half an hour and a stick-figure wedding later, Maria heard the happy ring of the door-chimes and looked up to see the waitress for the afternoon shift enter. Another five minutes and it was going to be official – she was going to join the rank of the unemployed. Smiling at the other woman, she got up and took off her apron with a sigh.

"This is it, I guess."

Elaine was leaning on the doorframe of the kitchen, a small frown on her face, and Beth was scribbling furiously in her notebook, but she looked up when she heard Maria's voice.

"It's time?" Her eyes went to the clock quickly, and she frowned too. "Aww, shucks!"

The Latina smiled at that, typical Beth. "Time flies, huh?"

The teenager got up from her chair and went to hug the older girl. "You should have said something sooner, we could've had a going away party!"

"I'm sure she's actually glad you didn't get to throw her one, dear." A small smile replacing her frown, Elaine made her way to the two girls. "Partying with underage girls, I'm sure that would've been a hoot."

"No one says hoot anymore, 'Laine." Beth made a face. "Besides, it would've been tons of fun!" She twirled around the cook. "… not to mention my last chance to get into Carlos' pants." She said the last part under her breath, but it was loud enough to be heard by her two friends. Maria laughed, not only at the comment, but at Elaine's sour look too.

"Unbelievable." Still laughing, Maria enveloped the teen into a hug. "I'll miss you, you know that?"

"Of course you'll miss me! What's not to miss?" Squeezing for dear life, Beth returned the hug and pulled away. "You better send me a graduation present next month, what with not being here for my party."

The Latina smirked, going behind the counter. "I almost forgot." She took out a large parcel, which was wrapped in bright colors and had a big bow. "Happy graduation!"

Beth beamed up at her and took the present. Sitting on a barstool, she unwrapped it carefully, revealing a beautiful painting of herself, laughing and twirling around in a park, her summer dress fanning around her beautifully. "Oh, Maria, it's wonderful! So, so, so beautiful!" She put the portrait down, hugging the older girl again. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"You're welcome. There was no way I was going to forget about your graduation."

"It really is beautiful, dear." Elaine smiled at the artist, pride in her eyes. "You better not waste that talent of yours, you hear?" Taking her turn, she hugged the woman that had become like a daughter to her. Kissing Maria's cheek, she quietly whispered in her ear, her words just what the young woman needed to hear. "You ever need anything, you call me and come back here. God knows if someone can take care of you, it's me."

Maria squeezed her eyes shut, hugging the old woman tightly. "Thank you, 'Laine. For everything."

A few tears escaped under her lashes when they separated, and she was quick to brush them away. There was a honk from outside the diner and the three women peeked through the glass, seeing Juice in Maria's truck. He had driven her to work that morning and now, after piling the luggage from the apartment in the bed of the truck, he was back to pick her up. They had to get all his things from the clubhouse before going on the road.

"Well… I guess it's time." Beth sported a sad smile, identical to the smiles her companions wore.

"Yeah."

The teenager opened her arms wide. "Group hug?"

Laughing again, the tree women shared a hug, the last one for a long time to come.

Elaine watched as Maria picked up her bag and her coat. "You'll be missed, Mia."

Maria smiled and, looking at the diner one last time,took a deep break and opened the door, making her way to the truck and the only person that had been a constant in her life.

"This is it then."


End file.
